23km traffic jam north of Sydney - Sydney Morning Herald

RACHEL OLDING December 27, 2012

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Holidaymakers have been ensnared in mega-sized traffic jams as the annual post-Christmas migration begins.

A 23-kilometre queue of traffic is backed up near Kempsey, about five hours north of Sydney, and motorists are waiting at least an hour to pass through an area that is still under construction while the state government builds a bypass.

For motorists heading south on the Princes Highway, delays include a five-kilometre queue at Albion Park Rail.

About 100 kilometres north of Newcastle, a 13-kilometre line of cars is crawling through Bulahdelah. At Macksville, the queue is 1.5 kilometres long.

At Hexham, just north of Newcastle, the queue is seven kilometres long for motorists approaching the Hexham Bridge along the New England Highway, adding 15 minutes to journeys.

At Berry, south of Sydney, there is a one-kilometre queue, while Kiama is backed up for two kilometres.

A spokesman for the Traffic Management Centre said an earlier three-vehicle accident on the Pacific Highway at Fernbank Creek, near Port Macquarie, was still affecting northbound motorists.

"Motorists are advised to expect lengthy delays and allow plenty of additional travel time," the spokesman said.

Elsewhere on the state's roads, a man has died after being hit by a car while he was on the side of the road.

The man, aged in his 50s, was standing next to his car on the side of Ulan Road in Mudgee on Thursday morning.

A female in her 30s, who was driving a Ford station wagon, allegedly hit the man, who died at the scene from extensive injuries.

The road will be closed until early afternoon as officers from the Crash Investigation Unit examine the scene

The crash has brought the state's road toll to eight. It follows a horror day on the state's roads on Boxing Day, with five people killed in four separate crashes, including a husband and wife visiting from Fiji.